Balling-furnace.



M1 SELLERS & H. M. NIGHOLLS.

BALLING FURNACE.

APPLICATION FILED 11211.13, 1911.

1,029,234, Patented June 11, 1912.

CDLUMBIHA PLANOORAPH C0-- WASHIN'GTON. D. C.

M. SELLERS & H. M. NIGHOLLS.

BALLING FURNACE.

APPLICATION FILED APE.13, 1911.

1,029,234, 7 Patented June 11, 1912.

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M. SELLERS & H. M. NICHOLLS. BALLING FURNACE. Anmunlon FILED APB.13,1911.

1,029,234, Patented June 11, 1912. B 5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

k e? R *Q u S a m l} 7?? x R g M. SELLERS & H. M. NIOHOLLS. BALLINGFURNACE. APPLICATION FILED A11L13, 1911.

Patented June 11, 1912.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH 60.,wA5l-nNu'roN, n. c.

M; SELLERS 81H. M. NIGHOLLS.

BALLING FURNACE.

APPLICATION FILED 11 11.13, 1911.

Patented Jun 11, 1912.

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BALLING-FUBNACE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 11, 1912.

Application filed April 13, 1911. Serial No. 620,882.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, MORRIS Siemens and HAL M. NIorIoLLs, citizens ofthe United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and Stateof Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inBallingFurnaces, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to a balling furnace in which the ball is producedby mechanical means in place of hand labor; and the invention has forone of its primary objects to provide apparatus of this sort of noveland improved construction and design in which the hearth, instead ofbeing rotated continuously in one direction, as has been here toforeproposed, is given periodic oscillating movements in oppositedirections.

A further object of the invention is to provide an oscillatory workingchamber formed on an are less than three hundred and sixty degrees,preferably less than one hundred and eighty degrees, which shall have anopening or openings through which the charges may be introduced into thechamber and from which, by tilting the working chamber beyond the normalthe finished balls may be discharged. 1

A further object of the invention is to provide such a relationshipbetween the curvature of the hearth on which the ball is formed and theaxis of rotation or oscillation of said hearth that the rotationalmovements of the hearth will give the working portion thereof a pitchwhich is greater than that represented by its curvature. This may beaccomplished, for example, by striking the curve of the hearth eccentricto the center of oscillation or rotation and from a center above thesame. One purpose of the arrangement is to provide for a considerabletravel of the ball at each periodic movement of the hearth while at thesame time insuring'suflicient pitch to compel the metal before it hasbegun to ball, when it is in the form of a heap or pile of scrap orpieces, to roll over upon itself and upon the hearth and so initiate theballing operation. This arrangement is also independently of value inthe formation of the ball by insuring a prompt and rapid travel back andforth without lessening the length of travel, thereby hastening andfacilitating the formation of the ball and more effectively compactingand welding the elements into a ball of the desired density and shape.

A further object of the invention is to provide a form of apparatus inwhich the flame employed for heating the metal may be introduced. intothe chamber from the top and directed downwardly against the metal, andto so construct the hearth that portions of the flame not directlyimpinging against the metal may be reflected against it from thesurfaces constituting the hearth.

A further object of the invention is to provide a construction whereby asubstantially defined zone of intensest heat will be provided, withinwhich Zone the body of metal to be formed into a ball will be caused totravel during the greater period of the balling operation of thefurnace.

A further object is to provide a construction permitting the employmentof the fur naces in multiple, for example, in pairs, whereby one furnacecan be discharged and recharged while the balling operation is going onin the other; which arrangement, besides economizing time and labor,makes it possible to utilize the exhaust from one furnace to minimizethe cooling of the other furnace, to preheat the charge in such otherfurnace and to draw on the fuel supply continuously, the latter featurebeing of considerable importance when the fuel is gas supplied from theordinary gas producer.

The invention has for further objects such other new and improvedconstructions, arrangements and devices in balling apparatus as will behereinafter described and claimed.

The furnace is particularly intended for welding together or ballingwrought iron or steel scrap, although possibly it might be employed inother operations of similar character. While ordinarily and in thepreferred construction of our apparatus the scrap will be formed into 'asphere, still it is to be understood that the term balling is to begiven a broader meaning so as to comprehend any welding of a mass ofscrap into a single mass substantially inthe manner herein described inthe process of converting scrap metal into a unitary mass of wroughtiron.

The features of the apparatus constituting our invention make possiblecertain improvements in the process of treating such scrap, as willhereinafter appear, whereby the operation is cheapened and facilitatedand whereby a better grade of wrought iron can be produced than has beenpossiblewith the methods heretofore used. However, we

,do not claim herein the improvements in processes which may bedisclosed in this application, as the processes involved in or madepossible by the use of the apparatus herein described are claimed in ourco-pending application Serial No. 620,883 filed April 13, 1911.

The invention is illustrated, in a preferred embodiment, in theaccompanying drawings, wherein- Figure 1 is a side elevation of theapparatus; Fig. 2 is a plan view with certain parts shown in section;Fig. 3 a cross sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1, looking inthe direction of the arrows, certain parts, however, being shown inelevation; Fig. 4 a sectional view taken on line H of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 adiagram illustrating the character of the oscillatory movement impartedto the working chamber and Fig. 6 a diagrammatic cross-sectionillustrating the arrangement of two furnaces designed to be operated incoupled relation.

Like characters of reference indicate like parts in the several figuresof the drawings.

Referring to the drawings, the working chamber is formed of an outershell 10 of metal and an inner lining 11 of refractory material. In itspreferred form the working chamber is approximately semi-circular inform, the hearth 12 on which the ball is formed being formed on arcslying in the planes of oscillation of the chamber. Preferably theworking chamber is concaved transversely as shown in Fig. 3, the bottomof the chamber in such preferred construction being concaved bothlongitudinally and transversely and the sides rising and fiaring withrelative abruptness from the concaved'bottom, and is relatively narrowin respect to its longitudinal dimension. In effect, a deep groove witha rounded bottom is formed on a curve in the direction in which the balltravels. This construction of the working chamber or hearth we havefound is most reliable in producing a substantially accurate sphere ofwelded metal, whica', for reasons well known in this art, is extremelydesirable. The working chamber is provided with a journal 13 adapted toturn in a suitable bearing in the standard 15 and with a boss or gudgeon14 provided with a trunnion wheel 16 which is supported on the groovedrollers 17 rotatably carried on the support 18. The boss 14 is hollowand connects the interior of the working chamber with the flue 19 of thedowndraft chimney 20. The outer portion 21 of the journal 13 is in theform of a pipe and colmnunicates with a pipe 22, preferably providedwith a controlling valve 23 which leads to the gas producer or othersource of supply of fuel. The joint between pipes 21 and 22 ispreferably protected by the stutfing box 2% which permits the rotational movements of pipe 22 incident on the oscillation of the workingchamber. The hollow portion 21 of journal 13 is formed with a branch 25and the branch 25 is connected, by means of the bent pipe 26, with atransversely arranged manifold 27 from which the inlet pipes 28 extendthrough the arched top or cover portion 29 of the working chamber.

()n the hollow portion 21 of journal 13 is a worm wheel 30 meshed by aworm 31 on a shaft 32 turning in suitable bearings 011 the frame member33. Shaft 32 carries a bevel gear 34 meshed by a pinion 35 on a drivingshaft 36 mounted in bearings on the frame members 37. Shaft 36 carriesthe reversing driving pulleys 38. We have not shown the belt whichoperates on the pulleys 38 nor the mechanism employed for shifting thesame so as to reverse the direction of rotation of the shaft 36. Anysuitable form of mechanism capable of producing this result may beemployed. In fact the entire mechanism for giving oscillatory movementto the working chamber might be changed Without departure from ourinvention.

The working chamber is formed with one or more openings for the purposeof charging and drawing. As shown, the brick work of the chamberterminates at each end in a ring formation 39 inclosed by a metalannulus 40 secured to the outer metal casing 10. Hinged to these annuliare doors. A pair of these doors &1 are shown at the right hand side ofFig. 2, being hinged to brackets 42 secured to the ring 40 and heldclosed by the engagement of a pivoted latch 43 on one of the doors withthe hook at on the other. Preferably the door is formed with a peek-hole45. Where the working chamber has two openings, one at each end of thehearth, the charge may be introduced at one sidefor example, at the lefthand side, Figs. 3 and land the finished ball removed from the otheropening on the right hand side. Preferably the brick work ad acent toone of the openings, for example, on the charging side, will be formedwith a groove 16 for discharging the slag andcinder, and a metal spoutor chute A? may be secured to the ringlO at this side of theworkingchamber. In addition to the other advantages, to be hereinafter advertedto, re sulting from making the working chamber of the form shown andoscillating the same, instead of employing a circular, continuouslyrotated chamber, the form of furnace here shown has the added advantageof being more simple and economical to construct and more easy to repairthan a rotary furnace. As the furnace does not make a complete circle,it is not necessary to key the brick work forming the bottom and sidesof the refractory lining. As the top of the balling chamber does notcarry the weight of the charge, it can be of light, simple construction,readily assembled and as readily removed and repaired. The bottom andside bricks keep their position by their weight, simply resting upon thebottom of the metal casing and upon themselves. For example, ordinarystraight bricks 48 may be used in forming the sides and slantingportions of the bottom of the working chamber, as indicated particularlyin Fig. 3, it being necessary to use keyed brick's only in forming therings 39 (Fig. 4), and in forming the bottom 49 of the hearth. As thesekeyed bricks are assembled in a position in which they do not have tosupport an arch, the building of this part of the, structure in ourdevice is a matter requiring little skill and one which can be attendedto quickly and cheaply. Furthermore, the top of the chamber may beloosely mounted in place and held in position by its own weight and canbe constructed, as shown in the drawings, of a metal plate or clampfilled in with a thin layer of side arch bricks held together, if needbe, with the usual cement in the joints.

It is obviously much easier to repair a structure of this sort than apiece of cylindrical brick-work in which a whole circular course ofbricks has to be taken out when a single brick is worn out and has to bereplaced. Another advantage of this construction is that it permits ofcharging and recharging with a minimum suspension of operations and aminimum cooling of the interior of the chamber, which is important sincethe refractory lining should be kept at an intensely high heat.Furthermore, it provides a structure from which the cinder or slag canbe removed with the utmost facility and, if desired, repeatedly duringthe treatment of a single charge, and without suspending operations orcooling the chamber, and also provides a structure in which molten,decarbonized or wrought iron can be added to the charge as desired withthe greatest facility.

Assuming that the furnace as above const-ructed is to be used forballing wrought iron scrap, the operation may be performed as follows:The scrap, after being cut or broken into pieces of suitable size, isthrown into the working chamber at one end, the doors tl closed, theworking chamber oscillated back and forth and gases in a state ofcombustion introduced through the fuel inlets 28. The scrap collectstogether in a heap or mass in the bottom of the chamber, where it isacted upon directly by the flames which, it will be noted, impingeagainst the metal from above, instead of being directed axially throughthe furnace, as is the case with ordinary rotary furnaces. Moreover, thecurvatures of the hearth, both longitudinal and transverse, are suchthat a reverberatory action results, the flame which does not impingedirectly on the ball being reflected against all sides of the same fromthe walls of the chamber. Preferably the inlet openings or twyers arearranged in such relation to each other and to the bottom of the ballingchamber that they will provide a continuous zone of most intense heatwhich substantially defines the usual limits of travel of the chargeduring the greater part of the operation of the furnace, there beingpreferably no intermediate zone of lower temperature between the zonesto which the twyers, respectively, directly discharge the gases forcombustion or other means for heating the charge. The products ofcombustion find an outlet from the chamber through the hollow journal 14and down draft flue 19. A diiiiculty which is often experienced inmechanical balling apparatus of the rotary type arises from the tendencyof the mass of metal to stick before the ball has commenced to form.

In order that the balling operation may be initiated, the metal must becaused to fall or roll over itself. With the furnace constructed in themanner shown in the drawings herein the initial movement of the metal isinsured by a construction which gives the working portion of the heartha. very considerable pitch relative to the curvature of the hearth. Thisis accomplished by forming the hearth on arcs eccentric to the axis ofoscillation and locating the axis of oscillation below the center fromwhich the curves are struck.

Referring to the diagrammatic view of Fig. 5, a designates the center ofoscillation and b the center of curvature of the hearth. Successivepositions which the working chamber takes when given a movement ofrotation in one direction from its normal position are indicated by thedotted line figures. It will be seen that the point 0 at the center ofthe hearth moves on a radius which is much shorter than the hearthradius. 0, c designate the changes of position of the point a. As aresult of this eccentric arrangement, a mass of metal located in thebottom of the chamber will be given a much greater pitch than it wouldhave if the center of curvature of the hearth and the center ofoscillation coincided. The hearth is designed so that this pitch will besufficient in all cases to insure the initial rolling movement of themass of scrap, that is, it will in all cases be great enough so that theforce of gravity will overcome the frictional resistance between thescrap and the hearth and between the different pieces of scrap. Thissame result might be obtained by making the hearth radius shorter, butthat would initiate the formation of the ball without sacrificing thecomparatively long path of travel of the ball after its formation hascommenced. While this result is best and most easily obtained, as webelieve, by an apparatus in which the working chamber oscillates and inwhich the center of curvature of the hearth is above the center ofoscillation, substantially as shown and described, it would,nevertheless, be possible, as will be apparent from a consideration ofthe mathematical principles involved, to obtain similar results by meansof somewhat different constructions and arrangements.

The preferred construction of the hearth as shown, that is, with thelong longitudinal radius, a short transverse radius at the bottom andabrupt angular sides, is desirable not only because it insures theformation of a symmetrical ball, but because it is a shape which iseasily installed and maintained.

Another advantage of our form of furnace is that, if necessary ordesirable, the slag or cinder, or any portion of it, may be dischargedfrom the furnace during the formation of a ball. In order to do this, itI is simply necessary to tilt the furnace to a proper angle to permitthe outflow of the slag through groove et6 and the opening 4&5

in the doors. The furnace can be tilted back I before the ball has had achance to roll out, even if the end doors be not locked, owing to thefact that the cinder flows more freely than the ball rolls, butordinarily the door adjacent the cinder opening will be securely closedor will be of such construction or dimension that the ball cannot rollout while the cinder is being discharged.

Another advantage is that, if desirable, some ingredient may be added tothe welded or partly welded metal during the balling operation. Forexample, when it is desired to make a high grade of wrought iron fromscrap, the reducing of the scrap is first brought about, or theformation of the ball commenced, in the manner described, then themolten slag and cinder is discharged from the furnace and there is addedto the ball a quantity of decarbonized iron in a molten state, which, byuniting with the ball, improves the quality of resultant prodnot. Inthis way it is possible to turn out a grade of wrought iron which is asgood as the ordinary puddled iron.

In order to economize in the cost of production by utilizing scrap ironin the production of a high grade of wrought iron, it is desirable tocombine certain proportions of scrap iron with certain proportions ofwrought iron, but with processes heretofore practised it is notpractical to economically produce a high grade of product by directlycombining the scrap with the wrought iron, for it is not desirable tocombine the scrap iron product with wrought iron until the impurities,scale, oXids,'etc., have been eliminated from the scrap. Consequently,it is ordinarily necessary to separately form the scrap iron into muckbars or other form, which is then combined with new wrought iron by anysuitable reheating process.

YVith our apparatus, the necessity for this reheating is avoided, thecinder or slag resulting from the oxidation of the scrap and impuritiesin the scrap may be quickly discharged either by locating the cinderdischarge opening in such relation to the path of travel of the scrapthat the cinder is continually discharged, or by giving the hearth, whenconstructed as shown in the drawings, a longer travel whenever it isdesired to discharge the cinder. This provides means for eliminating theimpurities in the scrap and for bringing the scrap to a condition whereit can be combined with new wrought iron to advantage. The new wroughtiron can, for example, be ladled into our furnace in molten form withoutany appreciable delay or cooling of the furnace and will readily combinewith the scrap. In fact, the presence of the cinder or slag with thescrap would tend to prevent an effective combination and weldingtogether of the scrap and the new iron added thereto and would preventor retard the welding together of the scrap, that is, the coming tonature of the ball even if no new iron were added. When, however, thescrap has been partially treated in our furnace, new decarbonized iron,preferably in molten form, will be added before the formation of theball has been completed, but after the slag or cinder has been largelyor wholly eliminated from the scrap. At this stage the incomplete ballwill be a relatively porous mass of particles of scrap more or lesscompletely welded together. With the ball in this condition, the moltenmetal under the operation of the furnace willenter the interstices inthe ball and then will be worked thoroughly into and combined with theball to provide a mass of wrought metal of the character desired and ofa relatively dense consistency.

The relatively cool scrap will chill the fluid metal to a temperaturewhere it will be worked and welded together with the scrap in thefurnace.

If the formation of the ball has proceeded more nearly to completionbefore the molten 'inetal is added, the molten metal will form a coatingaround the ball, which will be chilled from its molten state and weldedand compacted to the ball and will tend to more readily produce a ballwhich for all prac tical purposes is a perfect sphere, which, as

is known in the art, is a desirable form for subsequent handling informing the ball into an ingot or bloom.

By our preferred arrangement of the twyers or burners discharging flameor gases into the chamber, the zone of most intense.

heat extends along the bottom of the chamber for a distance whichcorresponds to the normal path of travel of the ball, so that the blastof heat impinges directly upon the charge, irrespective of theangularity of the hearth at any point in its normal oscillation duringthe treatment of the charge.

When the balling operation is completed, the doors 41 on the dischargeside are opened and the furnace tilted so as to discharge the ball. Thedotted line figure designated d in Fig. 5 shows the position of thechamber at the time the ball is drawn. The dotted line figure edesignates the lowest position which the working chamber takes in itsnormal oscillations.

In Fig. 6 we have indicated, in a somewhat diagrammatic manner, anarrangement of two furnaces constructed after the design of the furnaceshown in the preceding five figures, by which arrangement the ballingoperation goes on in one furnace while the other discharges and isrecharged, whereupon the process then proceeds simultaneously in bothfurnaces, one furnace working under the direct blast of burning gasesand the other going through what may be conveniently called a preheatingprocess under the exhaust from the furnace receiving the primary blastof heat, thus providing a uniform discharge of gas which is an importantconsideration where producer gas is used as the heating medium, and atthe same time making it feasible for one man to simultaneously run twofurnaces. By this arrangement also the furnace which is being chargedand discharged is at the same time supplied with heat by the exhaustfrom the other furnace, so that the cooling of the furnace and thechilling of the highly heated, refractory lining is prevented.

The two furnaces are designated A and B, respectively. They areconnected by a flue and communicate at opposite sides with the exhaustfiues D and E, respectively. Valves F and G close fiues D and E. Gasesin a state of combustion are introduced into the furnaces A and B frompipes H and I which may lead from the same source of supply, forexample, from a gas producer or the regenerator ordinarily employedtherewith. The pipes are controlled by valves J and K. With the parts inthe position shown, the balling operation is taking place in furnace A,valve J in the fuel pipe being open and valve K in the fuel pipe leadingto furnace B being closed. The products of combustion escape fromfurnace A through the flue C, furnace B and fine E.

Flue D is closed by its valve F. At this period the ball previouslyformed in furnace B is drawn and a fresh charge of metal introduced.While the balling operation continues in A, the metal in B is subjectedto a preheating by the exhaust gases from A. which, of course, shortensthe subsequent balling operation. When the ball is finished in A, theoscillation of this furnace is stopped and the furnace B oscillated; thevalves F, G, J and K being shifted to open flue D, close flue E and openpipe I and close pipe H. By this arrangement the draw on the gasproducer, or other source of fuel, is uniform and uninterrupted. Theoperations of drawing and charging go on simultaneously with the ballingoperations and the heat from the furnace which is in operation is, to acertain extent, utilized in the adacent furnace. The furnaces arearranged close together, so that they can be operated by one man or onegang of men. The result is a saving in time, labor and fuel. Itwill beunderstood that any preferred form of fuel might be used. l/Ve prefer touse gas or oil; but by suitable changes in details any solid or liquidfuel can be utilized.

lVhile we have shown one and, as we now believe, the preferredarrangement of two furnaces in coupled relation so that they may beoscillated in unison or independently, the principle of utilizing theexhaust from one furnace to preheat the charge and maintain thetemperature in the other furnace can be applied in other Ways and suchvariations are contemplated by us. Thus, by suitable by-pass pipes andvalves, the exhaust from one furnace could at will be directed to theinduction )ipe of the other furnace and vice versa, the idea in eitherevent being broadly the same, to-wit, that one furnace is receiving theheating effect of the exhaust from the furnace which is re ceiving thedirect blast from the heating pipes.

It will also be understood that with our apparatus we produce a ball ofwrought iron with the impurities very largely or wholly eliminated,which can be much larger than it is feasible to produce in an ordinarypuddling furnace, which can also be made denser, more compact and morenearly homogeneous than is possible with furnaces heretofore used, andwhich leaves the balling chamber at such a high temperature that it canbe passed directly to the squeezers and rolls, to form a bloom, withoutreheating, whereas, by reason of the limitations of other processes, thepuddled mass or ball is relatively small, spongy and contains a largerproportion of impurities which, to some extent, can be squeezed out inthe squeezer when the ball is brought to a temperature at which thecinder will run, but which nevertheless produces such an inferiorquality of product that it is ordinarily adapted only for forming intomuck bars after reheating, which muck bars are in common practicearranged in piles with other scrap metal and, after a further reheating,resulting in a further loss of metal by oxidation as well as requiringadditional labor and additional fuel, are then rolled into blooms. Wethus produce a superior product with less labor, less fuel and less lossof material by burning or oxidation, because the repeated heatingsrequired by other processes are not necessary.

While we have described a preferred form of our invention, it will berealized that modifications in the constructions, arrangements anddevices shown and described might be made without departure from theinvention. Therefore, we do not limit ourselves to these particularsexcept so far as they are made specifically limitations on certain ofthe claims herein, it being our intention to hereby claim and cover bothbroadly and specifically everything in the disclosed apparatus which ispatentable over the prior art. Vi e also again note that while forconvenience, in the specification and claims the device is referred toas a balling apparatus, the claims are not thereby to be understood aslimited to the formation of a mass of metal of any specific contour oreven to the apparatus for handling scrap metal of the characterdescribed, but are intended to cover the apparatus described and claimedfor all uses to which it may be put. Neither is our invention confinedto the mechanical specific details shown and described except wheresuchparticular details are made specific limitations in particular claims.

We claim:

1. The combination of an oscillating working chamber provided with ahearth which is formed on curved lines lyingin the planes of oscillationand which is curved on transverse lines, said chamber being formed withan opening or openings in line with the travel of the ball on the hearthfor the purpose of charging and drawing, means for introducing a hotblast into said chamber, and means for oscillating said chamber.

2. In balling apparatus, the combination with an oscillatory workingchamber provided with a curved hearth which is formed on arcs less thana circle, lying in the planes of oscillation and which is concavedtransversely on curved lines, of means for oscillating said chamber, andmeans for introducing a hot blast into said chamber.

3. The combination of an oscillating working chamber provided with ahearth which is formed on curved lines lying in the planes ofoscillation and which is concaved on curved lines transversely thereto,the curvature of the hearth on the planes of oscillation and the axis ofoscillation being so re lated that points on the working portion of thehearth move on radii shorter than the hearth radius, and means foroscillating said chamber.

4. The combination of a pivoted working chamber and means for imparting.movements of rotation to the same, said chamber being provided with ahearth formed on curved lines eccentric to the axis of rotation andlying in planes perpendicular thereto and concaved transversely oncurved lines.

5. The combination of an oscillating working chamber provided with ahearth which is formed on curved lines lying in the planes ofoscillation, which is also concave transversely on lines having radiishorter than those of the first mentioned curves, and means forintroducing gases in a state of combustion into said chamber so thatthey are directed against the hearth on lines sub stantially radial tothe longitudinal curvature of the-hearth.

6. The combination with an oscillatory working chamber provided with ahearth which is formed on arcs less than a circle, lying in the planesof oscillation and which is also concaved transversely on lines havingshorter radii, and means for introducing gases in a state of combustioninto the top of the chamber so that they are directed downwardly againstthe hearth of means for oscillating said chamber.

7. The combination of an oscillatory work ing chamber, the bottom ofwhich forms a hearth which is curved longitudinally of the chamber, afuel pipe leading into the chamber through the top, and means foroscillating the chamber, said chamber being formed with an opening ateach end and with doors closing said openings.

8. The combination of an oscillatory working chamber, the bottom ofwhich forms a hearth which is curved longitudinally of the chamber andis concaved transversely thereof on shorter radii, a fuel pipe leadinginto the chamber through the top, and means for oscillating the chamber,said chamber being provided with a journal which is hollow so as toconstitute a fuel intake pipe and having a branch leading through thetop of said chamber.

9. The combination of an oscillatory work- 7 ing chamber, the bottom ofwhich forms a hearth which is curved longitudinally of the chamber, afuel pipe leading into the chamber through the top, and meansforoscillating the chamber, said chamber .being provided with a journalwhich is hollow so as to constitute a second fuel intake pipe and has abranch leading through the top of said chamber, and sustaining means onthe side of the chamber which is hollow so as to provide an outlet flue.

10. The combination of a substantially semi-cireular working chamberformed with an opening at each end, means for closing said openings,said chamber being pivotally mounted, means for oscillating the chamber,the bottom of said chamber being formed wit-h a groove struck from acenter above the axis of oscillation, and means for introducing gases ina state of combustion into the chamber from the top.

11. In balling apparatus, the combination with a hearth providing adefined path for the ball to travel over and means for oscillating thesame, of means for providing a blast of heat concentrated on the line oftravel of the ball.

12. In a balling apparatus, the combination with a hearth providing adefined path for the ball to travel over and means for oscillating thesame, of means for discharging a blast of reducing gases downwardly uponsaid hearth in such direction as to provide a zone of concentrated heatalong the path of travel of the ball.

18. In a balling apparatus, the combination with a hearth providing adefined path for the ball to travel over and means for oscillating thesame, of a plurality of twyers arranged to discharge a hot blast in adirection to produce a continuous zone of hlgh temperature along thepath of travel of the ball.

14. In a balling furnace, the combination with a balling chamber havinga hearth providing a grooved path for the ball to travel over, of meansfor oscillating the same, and means for providing a zone of hightemperature along the line of travel of the ball, said chamber beingprovided atone end of said last-named means with an opening for chargingand discharging the same. I

15. The combination with a balling chamber of means for oscillating thesame, said chamber being provided with a charging opening adjacent oneend thereof and with adischarging opening adjacent the other endthereof, a grooved hearth between the same and means for providing azone of high temperature within said chamber intermediate said openings.

16. The combination with a balling chamber provided with a charging anddischarging opening and having a hearth providing a grooved path for theball to travel over, of means for oscillating the chamber so as to causethe ball to travel over said path, and means for. producing a zone ofhigh temperature along said path of travel of the ball, said chamberadapted to be tilted,when required, to a position which will cause theball to roll out of the discharge opening.

17. In balling apparatus, the combination with a balling chamberprovided with charging and discharging openings and with a cinderdischarge opening, of means for oscillating the chamber so as to causethe ball to travel therein, means for varying the movement of saidchamber whereby at will the cind'er may be caused to flow out of saidchamber by gravity without discharging the ball and the ball may becaused to leave said chamber by gravity when desired.

18. A balling apparatus, comprising an arc-shaped chamber containing ahearth along the bottom thereof providing a grooved path for the ball totravel over, charging and discharging openings at opposite ends thereof,means for oscillating said chamber, and means discharging into saidchamber intermediate its ends for providing a zone of high temperatureon said hearth.

19. A balling apparatus, comprising a balling chamber containing ahearth at the bottom thereof providing a grooved pathfor the ball totravel over, charging and discharging openings at opposite ends of saidchamber, means discharging into said chamber intermediate its ends toprovide a zone of high temperature therein, and means for oscillatingsaid chamber, all so arranged that the zone of intensest heat in saidchamber will at all times occupy the same position in said chamberduring the oscillation thereof.

20. A balling furnace comprising a hearth and means for oscillating thesame, said hearth formed so as to provide a noncircular groove, thebottom of which is concaved and the sides of which slope acutelyupwardly and outwardly.

21. A balling furnace comprising a hearth and means for oscillating thesame, said hearth formed so as to provide a noncircular groove, thebottom of which is concaved and the sides of which slope acutelyupwardly and outwardly, said furnace being provided at one end with anopening for the purpose of charging and discharging the metal.

22. A balling furnace comprising a hearth and means for oscillating thesame, said hearth formed so as to provide a non circular groove, thebottom of which is concaved and the sides of which slope acutelyupwardly and outwardly, said furnace being provided at one end with anopening for the purpose of charging and discharging the metal, and witha slag opening.

23. A balling furnace comprising a hearth, means for, oscillating thesame, said hearth being formed so as to provide a noncircular groove thebottom of which is con caved and the sides of which slope acutelyupwardly and outwardly, and means for directing a hot blast downwardlyinto the groove of said hearth.

2st. In a balling furnace, the combination of a balling chamber formedso as to provide a curved grooved heart-h for the ball to travel over,said chamber being mounted eecentrically with respect to the curvatureof the hearth in the direction of travel of the ball, and means forgiving rotational movements to the hearth for the purpose described.

25. In a balling furnace, the combination of a balling chamber formed soas to provide a curved grooved hearth for the ball to travel over, saidchamber being mounted eccentrically with respect to the curvature of thehearth in the direction of travel of the ball, means for givingrotational movements to the hearth, and means for directing a hot blastdownwardly into the groove of the hearth.

26. In a balling furnace, the combination of a balling chamber formed soas to provide a curved grooved hearth for the ball to 'travel over,means for giving rotational movements to the hearth, and means fordirecting a hot blast downwardly into the groove of the hearth.

27. In a balling furnace, the combination of a balling chamber formed soas to provide a curved grooved hearth for the ball to travel over, andmeans for giving rotational movements to the hearth; the chamher beingformed with an opening or openings in line with the hearth for thepurpose of charging and discharging.

MORRIS SELLERS. HAL M. NICHOLLS.

Witnesses G. Y. SKINNER, L. A. FALKENBERG.

' Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, byaddressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.

